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EmilyIf you are into plots consisting 70% of soppy love stories, little to no character development, unrealistic/convenient plot twists and blurry writing…moreIf you are into plots consisting 70% of soppy love stories, little to no character development, unrealistic/convenient plot twists and blurry writing then yes, go for it. I didn't like it at all. And I tend to like a lot of YA novels who are not perfectly written. But I have to admit that there are some really good aspects in the book. I liked the mind thingy a lot and some of the side characters are quite cool :)(less)

Ugh, another overhyped paranormal YA creation. When will I learn not to buy into hype? Just like so many readers, I gave into the favorable internet buzz and opened the book with an expectation of it to be something special. Unfortunately, "Beautiful Creatures" was just another painfully boring overlong dud.

Having finally finished this book with a high level of irritation and disappointment, I decided to check out the favorable reviews to see what people liked about the story. Turns out the mostUgh, another overhyped paranormal YA creation. When will I learn not to buy into hype? Just like so many readers, I gave into the favorable internet buzz and opened the book with an expectation of it to be something special. Unfortunately, "Beautiful Creatures" was just another painfully boring overlong dud.

Having finally finished this book with a high level of irritation and disappointment, I decided to check out the favorable reviews to see what people liked about the story. Turns out the most appreciated aspects of the book were: an original love story told from a male POV (compare it to those other romances told from whiny girls' POVs), truly original paranormal lore, and small town Southern setting. I personally found none of it particularly striking. Allow me to elaborate:

The story follows same old dead-beat formula: a paranormal/human pairing, uncovering of the "mysterious" partner's true nature, teens drawn to each other for some unknown reason (even my hope for some kind of reincarnation "twist" didn't quite work out), constant i-can't-be-with-you-cause-it's-dangerous back and forth, the inability to "be together" physically...

Male POV is also not successful. I am pretty sure Garcia and Stohl haven't spoken to a teenage boy in years, because I am yet to meet one who is nice to a fault, never has any lustful thoughts, fond of describing his GF's clothes, reads poetry, loves to spend time with his senile great-aunts, and likes to use Scarlett O'Hara's favorite dress style in casual narration. Goodness, Ethan, do you want to borrow my lipstick? I think the book would have been better if told in 3rd person, at least the writers' inability to channel a voice of a 16-year old boy would have been somewhat concealed.

As for Southern small town feel, I am pretty sure even Charlaine Harris writes it better in her trashy vampire books. In "Beautiful Creatures" it never rings true and is based on old tired cliches of narrow-mindedness and drawl.

But even all these issues aside, the book is simply a too long, often pointless concoction. Yes, the world of Casters (witches) is fairly new, but it is never too interesting or believable and can't justify the book's 600-page length.

I am still willing to give the writers some credit for their apparent effort to write a better book than the majority of YA writers, with a more intricate back story and better developed characters, but for me personally this book was just an excruciatingly long and boring read. The chances of me ever reading the sequel are non-existent.

Note to those who loved the book and feel compelled to leave me comments explaining to me why I am wrong disliking it: Spare me, I know exactly why you loved this book. This is only my opinion and I have a right to express it. I don't go to your 5-star reviews and try to convince you you are wrong liking it. Move on to your next paranormal romance instead. I have a handy list for you of the books you are sure to love:

EmilyGod bless the existence of libraries. I've wanted to read this book so bad because I saw the movie trailer and it looked quite interesting.In the endGod bless the existence of libraries. I've wanted to read this book so bad because I saw the movie trailer and it looked quite interesting.In the end I was just relieved that I didn't buy it but my school library has a small amount of English YA novels to choose from. I completely agree with your review! I find it very hard to find good scifi/fantasy books at the moment, just finished Allegiant and was kind of disappointed. Since you seem to have read around a bit, is there maybe a scifi/fantasy book you could recommend? I don't like books were the love story is almost the whole plot - like in BC. I'm considering the Maze Runner, also thanks to the movie trailer.

Off to watch BC movie in hope that it's better than the book it's based on.Thanks again for this well written on point review :) (even though it's four years old)...more
Oct 04, 2014 10:48AM

The Lady InquisitorI was going to read your review and take it in consideration but the "do you wanna borrow my lipstick" comment was so unnecessarily offensive and sexiI was going to read your review and take it in consideration but the "do you wanna borrow my lipstick" comment was so unnecessarily offensive and sexist (to both men and women) i won't even bother....more
Oct 17, 2014 12:57PM

oh my god, shusshify with all the loving on this book! this is another example of the world conspiring to tell me untruths. like, that sarah jessica parker is really hot.

"yeah, i don't know, she's kind of got a weird face, i am just not attracted to her"

"no! she is hot!! look at her dress!!! look at her shoes!!"

"yeah, no - i get it - her clothing is expensive, but she's just so oddly skinny and she has devil eyes."

"noooo - she is hot - here i made you a drink. you will like it, it is like hawoh my god, shusshify with all the loving on this book! this is another example of the world conspiring to tell me untruths. like, that sarah jessica parker is really hot.

"yeah, i don't know, she's kind of got a weird face, i am just not attracted to her"

"no! she is hot!! look at her dress!!! look at her shoes!!"

"yeah, no - i get it - her clothing is expensive, but she's just so oddly skinny and she has devil eyes."

"noooo - she is hot - here i made you a drink. you will like it, it is like hawaiian punch."

but this time i am not drinking.

here's the deal - two authors, one book. rarely works in practice. one lady said "i want to write a paranormal romance!" the other lady said "i want to write a civil war-era southern love story. well, let's smooosh them together! it is a great idea!!"

it's not a great result. it is a huge book that is very densely plotted, for teen fiction, which would ordinarily be a good thing if it weren't so shallowly conceived. it seems bloated with plot, but shy on the details. i had several "wait, but what?" moments.

and much of it seemed so... familiar. two teens in love, but both of their families are trying to keep them apart because of some ancient and unresolved family squabble. but also because she has powers, (this is the part shakespeare dropped the ball on)powers which might complicate her relationship to a mortal boy. but when they are together their kisses are like thunder and their embraces cause furniture to break and a teenage heart attack (cured by supernatural means, though. phew)

i worry for kids growing up on the new crop of teen fiction. the relationships always seems to have one paranormal participant, and it's hardly fair for actual teens. how can they compete with these? do kids get all sad after they lose their virginities and it is not as magical as they have been led to expect?? when beds do not rotate and literal sparks do not fly and they are not transported to the past?

it just seems like a lot of pressure to be put on them.

on the one hand - it is cool to have a male protagonist in a teen love story; most of then ones i have read are still goofy girls pining after unworthy boys. this is also the second book i have recently read in which telepathy occurs between the lovers. see - this i think is a bad idea. especially in teen lovers. i don't care how in love i am - once i find out you have the ability to read my mind, i am out. it is too creepy. no one will steal my inventions.

this is such a popular book, and it has such attractive cover-colors, i want to understand its appeal. conceptually, i thought it was a great idea, and with some adjustments, maybe it could have been better. i just thought there were too many loopholes, too many missed opportunities. and i hate this title. i kept calling it a combination of

i know i am no longer supposed to use pictures in my reviews, because it makes them too awesome, but

Phew, I am so glad that's over. I can't believe I actually made it through all those pages, I'm sure I wouldn't have done if I hadn't set myself the challenge of reading every monthly book club read chosen by one of my groups. Ugh. Seriously, just ugh. I have read some dismal books in the young adult paranormal genre, books that have been boring or annoying or have offended me, but I think I can honestly say this is up there with some of the worst books I've ever read. Everything about this booPhew, I am so glad that's over. I can't believe I actually made it through all those pages, I'm sure I wouldn't have done if I hadn't set myself the challenge of reading every monthly book club read chosen by one of my groups. Ugh. Seriously, just ugh. I have read some dismal books in the young adult paranormal genre, books that have been boring or annoying or have offended me, but I think I can honestly say this is up there with some of the worst books I've ever read. Everything about this book aggravated me in one way or another, from the ridiculous length of it to the male protagonist who's about as convincingly male as estrogen pills. I couldn't even concentrate on the story for the most part because I kept picturing Ethan as a thirty-something woman.

There are some things I'm going to rant about that may not have bothered me several years ago before Twilight came along, waving its cliche banners, and I appreciate that some people might find this slightly unfair seeing as this novel was released four years before the saga*. Well, unfortunately, I can only tell you what I thought of this book now, not speculate on what I might have thought if I'd read it a few years earlier. And, this fact aside, other things have nothing to do with when it was written or its similarities with other novels that have since been released from this genre. Like the fact that Ethan pisses me off and is a terrible attempt at writing a teenage male voice.

So, let's get the whole "this is like every other paranormal young adult book" thing out of the way. There were one or two additions to the witchy aspect of it that felt somewhat original but the general pattern of this novel with the romance and the carbon copy characters was predictable and, therefore, boring. No one likes a boring read and it's especially annoying when the book is nearly 600 pages long. Shall I check the usual paranormal YA criteria off for you? Small town... check. New girl... check. Boring holier-than-thou protagonist... check. Everlasting love after a very small amount of time... check. I don't know if this counts as instalove but it certainly counts as instaweirdobsession, full of laughable musings like "there's just something about her that makes me know it's meant to be" (hopefully, it's obvious that this is not a direct quote).

I thought that this book might be a little more original because of the uncommon choice to have a male protagonist, but everything is still exactly the same. Now, though, instead of a girl-next-door type, you have a boy-next-door type who sails along in his faultlessness, constantly comparing himself to the less intelligent and morally-questionable beings he must interact with every day. Ethan even treats us to a rare bout of what I can only call male slut-shaming; he criticises his male peers for having one-track minds and wanting to get off with girls when he is looking for something more meaningful... good for him, but why does that make him any better than the rest? He is actually an exact male version of many paranormal YA protagonists who criticise the popular girls for being more relaxed with their sexuality.

Not only that, but he also insults the other members of his Southern US town. The novel plays heavily on Southern stereotypes and portrays almost everyone but Ethan as being incredibly stupid. Ethan sneers at everyone, he is obviously smarter, has his morals in the right place and is just downright awesome in comparison. He makes it no secret from the very first chapter that he considers himself above them and it made me hate him before the story had even started going anywhere. He even goes so far as to announce that he doesn't have an accent because he was raised by intelligent people... I have two words for him: HATEFUL SNOB. Or FUCK YOU. Either works.

And predictable. This was Predictable with a capital P. We don't even need to meet Lena or even hear her name to realise that she is the one Ethan will end up with. As soon as one of Ethan's classmates asks "have you seen the new girl?" and Ethan begins to wonder if she'll be hot, we know from that point where the whole thing is heading. Sometimes, I'll admit, there's some fun to be had watching a couple angst it out together, even though you know they'll be together eventually, but before we even knew her name? I can't even say that I stopped caring because, truthfully, I never even started. This whole book was just... not good. Not good at all....more

BookishTessaI couldn't agree more. I read like half of the book(in two months because I kept starting other more exiting books) and then put it down. What's interI couldn't agree more. I read like half of the book(in two months because I kept starting other more exiting books) and then put it down. What's interesting is though, is that I quite enjoyed the movie....more
Nov 29, 2014 07:08PM

I never thought I'd try reading this book again. Last time I made an attempt at it, I was a lot stupider and I kind of disgraced myself, so I tried to erase this book from my existence.

It worked fine, until a few weeks ago my friend came up to me and went all teenybopper on my ass, telling me how ZOMG amazing this book is. I told her I'd tried to read it before and thought it was absolute shit, so she pulled out an Uzi and splattered my brains fifty feet dPoop! Crap! Garbage! Crap!

Wow.

Like, wow.

I never thought I'd try reading this book again. Last time I made an attempt at it, I was a lot stupider and I kind of disgraced myself, so I tried to erase this book from my existence.

It worked fine, until a few weeks ago my friend came up to me and went all teenybopper on my ass, telling me how ZOMG amazing this book is. I told her I'd tried to read it before and thought it was absolute shit, so she pulled out an Uzi and splattered my brains fifty feet down the QEW.

No, I'm kidding. But she did go totally stonking nuts and practically burst into tears. I was like, what the hell is wrong with you? And she said she was going to bring me her copy of the book and that she was going to make me read it, or else.

Friend, if you're reading this, go to hell. Just...yeah. Just go to hell.

This book is probably the biggest piece of overwritten, sniveling drivel I've read since Halo, and if you know me but at all you'll understand how bold that statement is. This book is a hot mess of the worst kind: boring, stupid and heinously written.

Ethan is painful as a narrator. Honestly? If you don't know how to write convincingly as a young male, don't do it. Pretty simple advice. The narrative voice in this book is just so shockingly bad, reading it is like eating cellophane.

It leaves a really bad taste in your mouth.

Okay, look. Level with me here. I don't know what it's like to live in the South, nor do I have any particular desire to find out - but I'm pretty sure it's nothing like this. The setting in Beautiful Creatures is one big, fat stereotype and basically, it makes all Southern Americans seem like petty, bitchy, closed-minded, bigoted lumps of waste - and what an insult that is. If you need any evidence just check out Ethan when he says that he doesn't have an accent because he was raised by educated people. What the heck? He practically spells it out that all Southerners are STUPID, and spends about 90% of the time lamenting about how he's too good for the town and all the people in it, and how predictable everyone is, and for God's sake, it gets really fucking annoying after a while.

You know those paranormal romances like Halo or the House of Night series? You know, the ones with narrators so painfully inane that it makes you want to put your finger up your nose and into your brain, and swirl it around? Ethan is worse. He is worse because he's not even fun to laugh at. We all got a chuckle out of Bethany's power of love and Zoey making out with a teacher and Juliette from Shatter Me announcing her undying love to Adam on page 60, but I kid you not when I say there is no comedic value to Beautiful Creatures. None at all. It's like a six-year-old drawing Star Wars battleships who takes himself way too seriously.

Ethan's wet rag of a love interest is absolutely no different. Lena is a walking cliche, in every sense of the word. She has these l'awesome bottomless green eyes, black hair and a CRESCENT MOON on her cheek. You gotta love this new subsect of paranormal romance, where people think making the girl the creature of the night automatically morphs the book into a new, exciting, fresh and empowering read.

Well, it doesn't. This book proves that. It proves that you can take a concept that might have been interesting and cool (new take on witches; I get it, and I like the idea) and bludgeon it so hard with a blunt, keyboard-shaped object that by the time you're finished, it's nothing but an unintelligible mangle of bloody sinew that is so horrifically unappetizing that you have to hide it from yourself to avoid triggering old psychological pain.

All this might have almost been okay had there been a shred of realism or even plain old chemistry to Ethan and Lena's relationship, but the whole thing is a contrived car crash of a romance. I cared so little for both of the characters and the stories behind them that I had absolutely no second thoughts upon putting this book down and never picking it back up again.

Look, let's be real here. This book is absolutely nothing special. It's full of the usual instalove and deflated mythology and flat narration. It's pretty standard YA fare - which is incredibly sad, because this book is straight-up crap in every way. I wish I could find something good about it, but to be honest it is probably right up there as one of the worst YA books I have ever read. It was absolutely terrible.

Music LuverI live in the south and i am currently reading this book. is it really that bad? The south is stationed nothing like this. This is more of a one horseI live in the south and i am currently reading this book. is it really that bad? The south is stationed nothing like this. This is more of a one horse town than a one horse town...... Is this book REALLY that bad? im really not sure .......more
Oct 08, 2014 05:37PM

SarahPlease don't attack people because they enjoyed a book.
Nov 29, 2014 08:36PM

"Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures."Doesn't that line just give you the shivers?!?!?!?

I doubt that they are people who will read this and not have a big impression. What am I saying?! I mean a HUGE impression. You know when you read a book and just immerse yourself in it? I'm sure most of you know the feeling. I kept reading into the night having no semblance of sleep,and st"Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures."Doesn't that line just give you the shivers?!?!?!?

I doubt that they are people who will read this and not have a big impression. What am I saying?! I mean a HUGE impression. You know when you read a book and just immerse yourself in it? I'm sure most of you know the feeling. I kept reading into the night having no semblance of sleep,and staying awake on interest alone. I could not believe my eyes when I looked at the window when I finished the book to see light peeking out. Suffice to say I'm hooked.

This book is told through our male protagonist Ethan Wate, which was refreshing. There isn't any real good way to describe him other than devoted I think. Ethan lives in the boring southern town of Gatlin, where nothing changes and the Civil War is called the war of Northern Aggression. Nothing of note happens and there aren't really any secrets but really nothing can be further from the truth. This town is hopping with secrets, really really juicy ones. Ethan doesn't come to realize this until a new girl, Lena, comes into town. Now this is where our story begins...

Gosh there is so much to say but I doubt I could get it all done. This book has mystery (a lot of it), Southern culture (a character in itself), magic (like you have never seen before), and one of the best romances I've seen lately (no joke). Can you tell I like parentheses a tad too much? Don't answer that. Any who I have to commend the authors of telling a story that I could no way tell it was written by two people. The writing is seamless and draws you in no matter what is happening. Reading this is a bit of an undertaking because it is a 500 some odd pages and has a lot of back story, but it's totally worth it. My favorite character would have to be Amma (Ethan's no nonsense fill in parent since his mother died). What makes this story work is that there is such rich descriptions of the characters, their lives, the surroundings, and even the minor characters jump out at you. One little teeny irk: I doubt Ethan would notice way too much about what everybody was wearing, but I guess how else were we suppose to know? The ending clearly indicates there will be a sequel, or there BETTER be one! I kept trying to guess how to solve it, but I didn't get it till the end. Some things I could see coming because you know it really could never end another way.

Basically this is a story of a boy who loves a girl but it's with the extra touch of magic.

Later note: Found out there is a sequel! Check out Beautiful Darkness. It looks like the first one is being made into a movie! And on another later note here is a link to the trailer. Looks smashing!...more

Dora MichelleWow. I like what you wrote. And I totally agree. That piece from the book at the beginning is the best part in my opinion. I realized we are actuallyWow. I like what you wrote. And I totally agree. That piece from the book at the beginning is the best part in my opinion. I realized we are actually those beautiful creatures the book is about (that's how I saw it). We crave love, hope, happiness. We can be hurt, we can be mended. We, mortals. We're not dark or light, we're not black or white. We are gray; black when we want to, white when we want to be. What a becautiful creatures we are! No one told us what to be, how to act. We have that abilty to choose. We are limited, but in those things that we can do, we are totally free. We are not part of some destinies, we are not part of someone's plan, we are not pieces in someone's game doing what they want us to. We are exactly what we want to be, what we coose to be. And that is what makes us so beautiful....more
Dec 28, 2014 07:03AM

LaneyI have read all four of the books, and although they were good, they were not great.. Also I am from the south, and I am offended about how they pportI have read all four of the books, and although they were good, they were not great.. Also I am from the south, and I am offended about how they pportrayed people from the south.. I'm sure their are people in the south that are like the people in Gatlin, but not everyone from the south is like that.. Also I honestly think the books would have been so much better if we saw more from Lena's point of view...more
Dec 29, 2014 08:09PM

It has taken me a small eternity to write this review. I was down a hand for I had to use my left index finger to clamp down on my left eyelid in order to stop the twitching that began around page 65 of Beautiful Creatures. Meet the culprit.

To quote Hawkeye, from the 1991 movie version of Last of the Mohicans, Beautiful Creatures is “a breed apart and makes no sense” therefore makingIt has taken me a small eternity to write this review. I was down a hand for I had to use my left index finger to clamp down on my left eyelid in order to stop the twitching that began around page 65 of Beautiful Creatures. Meet the culprit.

To quote Hawkeye, from the 1991 movie version of Last of the Mohicans, Beautiful Creatures is “a breed apart and makes no sense” therefore making it nearly impossible to describe. It’s a contradictory mess and filled with 600 pages of driveling, hyperbole, that attempts, and yet fails miserably, at being cerebral. I’ll take it from the top.

Ethan. Who knew that 16 year old boys had so much in common with my great grandmother? Big granny could tell you everything there was to know about Southern style architecture, felt the world would end if she ran a few minutes late, and loved Gone With the Wind. Coincidentally, she and Ethan could have been soul mates. Even more amazing, Ethan is popular. Had he gone to my school (which was in a small southern town I might add) he would have been beat, both before and after school, and mocked mercilessly during class.

Lena. Can’t really say anything about her, she is that flat and dull.

Amma. She must have fallen out of the crazy tree and hit every branch on the way down. She would dominate at a staring contest, could probably teach me a thing or two about setting the eye on someone, and if I ever needed to intimidate a guy by sharpening my pencil, she’d be the first person I would call. But as a character, she sucked arse.

Plot. Can’t say much about it as there isn’t one. I’ve seen it mentioned more than once in various blubs, that Beautiful Creatures is a memorizing Southern Gothic tale. To be frank, these women would be hard pressed to describe a south that didn’t appear in Gone With the Wind. This was truly driven home when another granny in the book stated that she wanted to be buried with her Bible so that she would have something to read once she passed. Any southerner worth their salt knows that statement would never be uttered south of the Mason Dixon line for two reasons. One, we all know that you will your battered family Bible to the least liked family member so that they are coerced by post mortem guilt to display it among their treasures once they have written your death date in it with a 10 cent pen they find buried in the back of a drawer and second because grannies don’t read Bibles, they just quote from them in order to brow beat you into submission. Basically, this entire book spits out clichés, cites works of literature that far surpass this one, Lena worries that she is evil, and she and Ethan hunt for a book that is rendered useless.

I wish I could have told Lena not to fret, because the real spawn(s) of Satan are the people who are responsible for publishing and/or advertising this book. Beautiful Creatures was blogged, blurbbed, and podcasted for at least 6 mos. prior to its release. I’d given them props if I weren’t so mad at them for their treachery. Had I been in their shoes, I would have quoted Bill Nighy from Love Actually, “Please boys and girls, buy this festering turd of a book so that someone can finally knock Stephanie Meyer off the best seller list.”

Lastly, for those of you who read my review thus far, I must apologize. I have pulled a Garcia and Stohl and have gone on too long. I bid you my blurb.

“Beautiful Creatures is freakishly weird, nonsensical, and plot-less tome that will leave your eye twitching long after you have turned the last page.”...more

Joyee AnupomaReading your review was certainly more enjoyable than reading that novel I struggled to finish for a whole effing month.
Jun 04, 2014 03:15AM

Laur Carp"I wish I could have told Lena not to fret, because the real spawn(s) of Satan are the people who are responsible for publishing and/or advertising th"I wish I could have told Lena not to fret, because the real spawn(s) of Satan are the people who are responsible for publishing and/or advertising this book. Beautiful Creatures was blogged, blurbbed, and podcasted for at least 6 mos. prior to its release. I’d given them props if I weren’t so mad at them for their treachery. Had I been in their shoes, I would have quoted Bill Nighy from Love Actually, 'Please boys and girls, buy this festering turd of a book so that someone can finally knock Stephanie Meyer off the best seller list.'" Absolutely priceless....more
Jun 07, 2014 11:14PM

Wow. I mean really, wow. I have no words. I really have no words. It's so much more easier for me to give reasons why I don't like something, rather than try to explain why I do. I mean, I don't know why I like something. I just do!

But let's see if I can explain this coherently. It took awhile for me to get into the story. Initially you get a lot of information, and I wasn't exactly sure where it all was headed. However, you needed that back story. You neThree words; unique, epic & addictive

Wow. I mean really, wow. I have no words. I really have no words. It's so much more easier for me to give reasons why I don't like something, rather than try to explain why I do. I mean, I don't know why I like something. I just do!

But let's see if I can explain this coherently. It took awhile for me to get into the story. Initially you get a lot of information, and I wasn't exactly sure where it all was headed. However, you needed that back story. You needed to understand the history of the town the history of Ethan, otherwise the vibrancy of the story would be lost. The history completely compliments and enhances the rest of the story, when you get to the end, you'll get it.

The atmosphere of these book was incredible. I had this insatiable craving for grits and sweet tea..... It really was like you were there, Garcia and Stohl cover even the smallest of details. Characterization was phenomenal. These characters were fantastically portrayed, three dimensional, I had very strong feelings toward each and every one of them and that's something that doesn't happen often. Something that's not evident a lot in YA fiction, is family involvement. The parents or guardians are always in the back ground, there, but not there. Beautiful Creatures has a lot of family involvement, which I loved.

Maybe I do know why I liked it! Writing was outstanding, pacing was right on, I could not get through the pages fast enough! The whole story was just fascinating, I just loved it, every small aspect. It just worked.

I can not wait to read more. I demand a sequel! Which I'm happy to report.... is coming! ...more

Jessy SoneI absolutely loved your review! I have no idea why people are hating on it, because this book is definitely one of the best I've read so far. I'm sureI absolutely loved your review! I have no idea why people are hating on it, because this book is definitely one of the best I've read so far. I'm sure its sequels will be as good as this. Well, hopefully!...more
Aug 20, 2014 06:29AM

KatherineIt made me so happy to read your review because I read a good number of people hating on it. I really am enjoying the book
Oct 02, 2014 03:51PM

From some of the reviews I've read, I was sure the writing was going to be atrocious. It's not. Sure there are times when it's repetitive and there's quite a few inconsistencies (where someone would say or do something and then contradict it a few pages later) and there were times when I had no idea what was going on (like where Ethan maybe almost had a heartache I guess and I thought it was some psychedelic love scene until it was explained at the end), but there are also moments of brilliance,From some of the reviews I've read, I was sure the writing was going to be atrocious. It's not. Sure there are times when it's repetitive and there's quite a few inconsistencies (where someone would say or do something and then contradict it a few pages later) and there were times when I had no idea what was going on (like where Ethan maybe almost had a heartache I guess and I thought it was some psychedelic love scene until it was explained at the end), but there are also moments of brilliance, in writing. The description was often vivid and I appreciate that it isn't uber-cheesy. I liked the Southern goth thing, especially Uncle Macon and Boo Radley and the changing house. In the beginning, I loved the setting of a Southern town and some of the quirky humor with which it was described. By halfway through though, I was sick of the over-stereotypical Southern town and over Garcia's and Stohl's mockery of it. I wish they hadn't wasted so much of the book making fun of the South.

Some issues I had with the book:1. I didn't believe, not for one second, that Ethan was a guy. Forget a teenager (which I didn't see either), there was nothing masculine about him. I can appreciate the lack of male protagonists in YA fiction, but if you're female writing a guy, you better make him more male than a guy would. You can't make him distinguish the smell of rosemary and then go on for a page an a half about the dresses girls wear to dances and then all the decorations to the dance and make him overanalyze the behavior of the girl he likes. And you absolutely cannot make your protagonist disgusted that other guys appreciate a girl's body and want to distance yourself from such crude behavior. Whether you want to believe it or not, all guys notice those things, even the goody-goodies. Guys have this thing about being one of the guys and blending in. They don't like to stand out. And if they do (and if they're as well read as a college graduate who hangs out with his great aunts on the weekends), there is no way they would be popular. Even the way they described the way he packed away food sounded like the way girls are appalled that guys eat so much. The only way I could read Ethan was as a personification of the authors as a teenage boy with all their girliness. I know that doesn't make sense either, but it worked for me, except for those moments when I was surprised to remember Ethan was a guy. Sometimes he couldn't be anything but a girl.

A few technicalities about guy things: Basketball. Centers aren't the stars of a basketball team. They don't get fouled every few second and they aren't the ones making the bulk of the shots. Garcia and Stohl could have meant regular baskets instead of fouls and mis-worded, but even then a center wouldn't be shooting from the free throw line. They're the big guys in the center who get shots off rebounds, not the ones dribbling up and down the court and making shots from the outside. And a guy who is on a sports team is ultra-dedicated to his team and the game and the season, especially if he's the star of the team. Guys don't let girls get between them and their game or their friends like girls do. Bands. This was worded vaguely, but I got the impression that Link, who is a drummer, was the main vocals in his band. Never going to happen. Lead singers are guitarist, bass players if you want, or just vocals, but not the guy in the back on the noisy drums setting the rhythm for the whole band. Like I said, it was vague and Link could have just been introducing the band, but I always wondered where the vocals were coming from when Ethan heard Sixteen Moons play on Lena's viola or anywhere that wasn't his iPod. Mysterious, supernatural vocals.

2. I had trouble suspending my disbelief in this one. When it opens with Ethan waking from a recurring nightmare and his reaction is "oh, there's mud on my bed again from my dream," it was a little jarring. I wanted him to freak out that his dreams were something more than dreams. I wanted him to freak out that someone could talk in his head. I wanted him to freak out that all these weird supernatural stuff was going on around him. (Not girl freak out, guy freak out.) And if he's getting mud and water in his bed, why isn't snoopy Amma, queen of the superstitious, who is up in the night way too often realizing something is going on while he sleeps? Nobody really noticed how crazy their small town got. I wanted a reason to belief that all this crazy supernatural phenomena had been going on in the world and nobody noticed before. It was too much. But my biggest issue with the supernatural elements is that I'm not a fan of black magic, not a fan of people with too much invincible power (especially power that is hidden but obvious), and more than anything, I'm not a fan of stories where people don't have a choice whether they're good or evil (our ability to chose is about the only thing we can control in our lives, without it, what are we but robotic extensions of someone else?). This book had all three, so while the suspense ended up being decent by the end (after a lot of dragging), I wasn't crazy about where it was going.

Speaking of freedom of choice, I never felt that Ethan and Lena fell in love. It was this sense of "oh, you're the girl from my dreams that I'm supposed to be madly in love with. You're hot; that's cool, let's be intensely, maddeningly in love beyond what mere mortals experience." Garcia and Stohl tried to backtrack with this sense that they were taking it slow and just being friends, but the damage had already been done. They had already fallen irrevocably and eternally in love solely because they were destined to without ever getting to know each other. And from then on, Ethan automatically understood everything Lena was thinking and feeling, which had nothing to do with the supernatural element. He just described her facial expressions or body language and told us exactly what was going on in her head. She may as well have been a secondary POV.

3. Which brings me to my next issue, writing issues. There were several instances where the authors tried to take something back or add something that should have been happening as an afterthought or most annoying made Ethan play the stupid girl to keep the suspense going. This is most frustrating in the climax scene where it takes four pages after Ethan realizes something is off to figure out what the rest of us already have. I think we were supposed to be surprised by the revelation of who is waiting for them in the garden, but I don't see how you couldn't get it. And then Ethan makes this statement: "She had the power to destroy. I had only seen the power to love." Really? Really? All those broken windows and storms and pandemonium and he hadn't noticed the power to destroy? What story was he in?

Going into the climax, I was annoyed with the book and the characters who were just sitting around waiting for the climax. Before that, I kind of liked the book, but I got so frustrated with the stilting of Ethan and Lena's characters that I almost closed the book. If they don't care about their destiny, why should I? Time is running out and they have the book that maybe has the answers they're looking for and what do they do? They go to a dance (where Ethan describes the dresses and decorations). Pages and pages of a high school dance with doom waiting at the door. And then, they go to school and do homework and make out and take on the town and ignore the big clue given to them a hundred pages before the climax. We're later told that they spent so much time pouring over the book that they're sick of it, but other than the one scene, I didn't see it. Even if they didn't get any answers, I wanted to see Ethan and Lena in a panic trying to stop the inevitable, not waiting around for it to show up. And I'm not even going to go into the tantrum Lena pulls on the big day. The authors wanted certain scenes in so they forced them on the characters and the story when they didn't fit.

I think the book was too long and the details focused on the wrong things. If it were an intense page-turner or the sexual tension powerful, then the 563 pages would have flown by. But it read like a book that was 563 pages. I can see why girls like the book, but not why anyone would give it 5 stars....more

Melissa Paranormally RomancedWow absolutely loved this review. I felt the same way. It was a bit frustrating. Especially the end really like I can't believe she left the house toWow absolutely loved this review. I felt the same way. It was a bit frustrating. Especially the end really like I can't believe she left the house to join a party of people that hate her it wasnt realistic at all. Ethan was way too feminine....more
Dec 28, 2010 10:11AM

ErinLove the review but I also have to point out that the Monkees, the Carpenters and the Eagles (when Henley fronted) had drummer/singers too :). But I aLove the review but I also have to point out that the Monkees, the Carpenters and the Eagles (when Henley fronted) had drummer/singers too :). But I agree on everything else!...more
Jan 13, 2011 05:18PM

This was one of the worst books I have ever read. Even with two authors it failed to satisfy me. The story is overloaded with cliches. The characters are all... nothing. Ugh... I wish Goodreads had a "Hated it so much that a part of me just died" star. A "Didn't like it" star ridicules my feelings towards this... book.

SydneyOk, I really, really loved these books, but the movie was HORRIBLE. To all of those who have seen the movie and it made them not want to read the bookOk, I really, really loved these books, but the movie was HORRIBLE. To all of those who have seen the movie and it made them not want to read the book, I ensure you, the book it 100% better. No. Make that 2000%....more
Feb 17, 2014 03:01PM

Eyehavenofilter "BARF, Hack", said my kitties, and I was left to clean up the ugly hairballs left behind... Same feelings I had after reading what I could barely stom"BARF, Hack", said my kitties, and I was left to clean up the ugly hairballs left behind... Same feelings I had after reading what I could barely stomach of this book?...more
Feb 18, 2014 06:49PM

Wendythe movie sucked so bad, it was poorly re-written for screen, and didn't follow the books at all. The characters didn't look like they do in the booksthe movie sucked so bad, it was poorly re-written for screen, and didn't follow the books at all. The characters didn't look like they do in the books and some are missing entirely. I say don't watch the movie or you won't enjoy the books! The books are awesome!...more
Oct 14, 2014 02:36PM

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.Fuck you, Beautiful Creatures, and everyone that is in this stupid ass book.

Let’s start of, with our beloved Ethan. I can’t stand him. I want to rip his balls off because he doesn’t deserve them. He’s not even a Gary Stu, he’s a fucking Mary Sue. No, I’m not kidding. It took me 40 pages into the book to realize that the main character is a dude. This is such a huge fail that it makes me want to claw my eyes out. His thoughts and they way he thought about things were certainly not coming from thFuck you, Beautiful Creatures, and everyone that is in this stupid ass book.

Let’s start of, with our beloved Ethan. I can’t stand him. I want to rip his balls off because he doesn’t deserve them. He’s not even a Gary Stu, he’s a fucking Mary Sue. No, I’m not kidding. It took me 40 pages into the book to realize that the main character is a dude. This is such a huge fail that it makes me want to claw my eyes out. His thoughts and they way he thought about things were certainly not coming from the mind of a teenage boy. This isn’t even funny, I enjoy reading from the male perspective, I find it interesting and it’s a shame that not a lot of YA books are from a male perspective, but if you do not know what you’re doing. Don’t do it. Please. Take the Garcia and Stohl books as an example. If you are a woman, and you write from a male POV, please, know what you are doing. There is nothing more infuriating than picturing a girl as your main character when you know it’s supposed to be a dude. (I did picture Ethan as a girl eve after I realised he was a dude. They made a nice lesbian couple. Both idiots.)

Ethan also did absolutely everything without logic. He was perfectly fine with the fact that he could speak to Lena telepathically, he did not even question it. Who the fuck does this? If you just out of the blue started to speak to someone in your head, you’d question it. He also, went to see Lena over and over and over again after he was told not to. I understand that teenagers are like that – I am too – but when you consider yourself crazy with the real dreams you had previously, I think staying away from the person is a good idea, because you yourself Ethan could a be potential hazard to her health.

Can somebody please explain to me why for the love of god he was always saying “Let’s ask. (S)He might know. We have to. We have no choice.” Or something along those lines? Even after Lena told him not to? MULTIPLE TIMES?! Since when do teenagers talk like that, let alone think like that? Last time I checked, teenagers and adults were not on the best terms when it comes to things as serious as this – or even talking! Not to mention the fact that he was even gullible enough to trust everybody to talk about what was going on. I get it, they’re your relatives, still. You do not just walk into a room hear the person say hi and then just pour out your whole life story to them. It just does not happen.

We’re onto the favourite part of the review my friends – insta love.

No!

The relationship development between Ethan and Lena was... There just wasn’t any. The new girl came to school, Ethan was like “Mmm, fresh meat!” and just fell for the girl the first time he saw her. He saw her stranded in the rain when the car broke down and gave her a ride. Ok, I guess I can’t say anything about that, even though you don’t know this person. He takes her home. The next time he sees her it’s at school, she breaks a fucking window, he runs after her?! Are you kidding me? And he goes back to her place, in some sort of field, they talk like they’ve known each other forever, and does anybody else find this creepy? Why did he follow her? He doesn’t even know her!

In that field they find a locket, they both touch it and it gives them some sort of vision into the past. They have no fucking clue what it was about or why it happened. And after that they don’t even act like it affected them. At all. So then, when he shows the locket to his housekeeper Amma, she makes him go back to bury it where he found it and he doesn’t. Ok, I get it, you’re a teenager, you do the opposite of what you are told – I do that too – but why?! Why for the love of god didn’t he bury the locket when it should have freaked him out beyond imagination after giving him that vision? Why did he even take it in the first place? Please explain that to me. A normal person would have ran away from that place as fast as (s)he could, and would never go back there again. But what did Ethan do? It became his and Lena’s special place. Now, that is just fucked up.

Let’s talk about the writing/storyline for a moment. It was annoying. It was written from a female POV. There were SO MANY unnecessary details and descriptions it made me grit and grind my teeth so hard that I had to hope my dentist will be gentle the next time I go see her. It just got on my nerves. Not my cup of tea, I guess. It was just so boring and so flat, literally nothing happened for the majority of the book and when something did the writing didn’t pull me in like in other books. I didn’t sit on the edge of my seat or bite my lip, or shake the book and be like “Why can’t I read faster?!” (I really do that.)

There was also this Guardian Angel club petition thing at their school... Don’t even get me started on that. That whole thing was so screwed up... I’m just way beyond anger and frustration now. Their whole community is so fucked up that it doesn’t even make it interesting. Usually when there is a town full of crazy people it’s bound to be interesting to read about, oh but not in Beautiful Creatures. The way it was done was only annoying.

There were just so many things that irked me in this book that I can’t even name them all. Everybody in the Gaitlin community is so fucking closed minded and idiotic it hurts. Physically. I literally could not sit there and read through any of those scenes without grinding my teeth. The stupidity was just too much. I skim read most of this and I gave up on page 397. I was told that Beautiful Chaos was really good and to get to that good you have to go through a lot of shit, but frankly I’d rather stop killing my brain cells now. I might not even like Beautiful Chaos. What’s the point of me hoping that it will? It probably won’t. Because I hate everybody in this book.

It's not often that a book has me cringing, wanting to throw it down in frustration and never to return to it again. Unfortunately, Beautiful Creatures was written so badly and unconvincingly so that's what I would have done, if not for a reading challenge I was trying to complete.

You'd think such an interesting and unique premise about witches and warlocks would be difficult to get wrong. Unfortunately, the book was written in such a bland, boring manner that it failed to grab me at all. Not tIt's not often that a book has me cringing, wanting to throw it down in frustration and never to return to it again. Unfortunately, Beautiful Creatures was written so badly and unconvincingly so that's what I would have done, if not for a reading challenge I was trying to complete.

You'd think such an interesting and unique premise about witches and warlocks would be difficult to get wrong. Unfortunately, the book was written in such a bland, boring manner that it failed to grab me at all. Not to mention that some of the writing is just plain bad. It was contradictory, involved one too many broken sentences, and was rather confusing at times, making it a chore to understand what the author is trying to get at.

Unlike most YA books, it is written in the point of view of a teenage male, but the authors trying to put themselves in a teenage boy's shoes mostly involved talking about how hot some cheerleaders were at the school. There's barely any character development and you're just meant to accept that Ethan just falls in love with Lena, because he's been dreaming about her all of this time.

The plot (or lack thereof) just seemed to drag on and on forever. So much so that at the end, I wondered why I bothered wasting my time on reading this book when there are so many other more interesting things to do.

Also at the most crucial moment when the plot is meant to take off, the authors throws us into a random, unimportant, and rather frustrating side track in the form of a surprise party. Who cares about the other school kids when you are meant to be finding out what happens to Lena after ramping this up for the ENTIRE book?

EvieAll my friends LOVED this book. I couldn't stand it. I forced myself to read the entire thing because I hoped it would get better at the end. The charAll my friends LOVED this book. I couldn't stand it. I forced myself to read the entire thing because I hoped it would get better at the end. The characters were so uninteresting I felt like I deserved a reward at the end. It's good to know I'm not the only one that noticed all these things....more
Feb 15, 2013 12:55PM

Mackenzie MooryI loved the book and I'm about to read the second one.
Jan 08, 2014 06:11PM

How the heck is this book turning into a movie?! I'm telling ya, reading this THING is like walking through mud that has some sharp stuff in it. It's slow and painful.

But, before i'm gonna go all ballistic, and talk about how much i didn't enjoy reading Beautiful Creatures, i'm gonna say what this book is about for those who don't know. So the main protagonist is Ethan, he dreams of this girl that he doesn't know ( more like has nightmares). Then one day he goes to school, and hears there is aHow the heck is this book turning into a movie?! I'm telling ya, reading this THING is like walking through mud that has some sharp stuff in it. It's slow and painful.

But, before i'm gonna go all ballistic, and talk about how much i didn't enjoy reading Beautiful Creatures, i'm gonna say what this book is about for those who don't know. So the main protagonist is Ethan, he dreams of this girl that he doesn't know ( more like has nightmares). Then one day he goes to school, and hears there is a 'new hot chick', when he sees her, he somehow knows it's the girl from his dreams. But as they grow closer together, Ethan 'realizes' that she hides a dark secret, and is not whom she really seems she is.

I would highly suggest you keep on reading my review if: A. You'v read this book. B, You never finished it and are NEVER planning to, or C, You are NEVER EVER planing to pick this up and don't mind people swearing ( cause i'm gonna). And also, there are GOING TO BE SPOILERS.

Fist things first, doesn't the plot sound somehow similar? I swear i'v read at least 2 books about the same thing - boy/girl dreaming about a stranger, and then they meet them and fall 'helplessly in love'. I'm seriously getting tired of that same old crap. The only reason why i was even thinking about buying this book was because of the movie. I'm sure lot's of people had the same reason that i did.

Let's go onto the characters. Gosh, i'm actually shivering of detestation when i think about them. I think they were the most unrealistic characters i had the misfortune of ever getting to know. They were described and developed ok-ish. But i actually don't give a damn about that most of the time, it's the REALISTIC thiny i'm looking for. I could not connect to the characters AT ALL, any one of them, well if you count a dog as a character, then yeah. I couldn't care less if all of them died on the next page. Ethan was the worst. He was just so damn STUPID! I wanted to punch him in the face, or strangle him to death most of the time. Here's my prove -

( Ethan getting ready to leave for prom). ....? A little protection never hurt anybody - not even you, Ethan Wate." ..... She gave me a bone crushing hug, and i ran down the steps and into the night. " You be careful, you hear? Don't get carried away." I had no idea what she meant, but i smiled at her anyway."

K, let's talk about this. What kind of stupid teenager wouldn't understand what she meant by that?! Even fucking 10 year old's would know what she meant! What is he, like 4 years old? Maybe he should go back to school for toddlers. It was SO obvious she was talking about him having sex and carrying protection just in case it happened.

( Lena breaking up with Ethan)..... Then she turned and fled down the hallway that was so quiet you could have heard a pencil drop. ' merry christmas, Lena'. But there was nothing to hear. She was gone,........

Who the hell would think/say ' Merry Christnas' to a girl that have just ripped you'r heart out?

( Ethan and Lena having a fight. Then she goes into her house and slams the door). 'I heard the door slam behind me as she went back into the house, her cellblock, whatever. I hadn't had a girlfriend before so i wasn't prepared to deal with all this - i didn't even know what to call it. Especially not with a caster girl. Not having a better idea of what to do, i stood up and......'

Errmmm.. i don't know. Maybe like try and talk to her. Show her that you actually bother and care about her. TRY to understand. Not leave like you don't give a fuck in the world, and go back to school like nothing happened.

So, yeah. As you can see, i wasn't very 'fond' of Ethan.

The characters weren't the only reason why i didn't like this. It was also because of the slow pacing. Ahhh! I despise slow paced books! And Beautiful Creatures? Was not only slow from the beginning, but also practically throughput the ENTIRE fucking book. However, i have to give this book the credit of making me want to fall asleep. I usually don't fall asleep very easily, but with this book? Not a damn problem.

The very ending sucked as well. I actually YAWNED at the end, that's how much i didn't give a shit about what's gonna happen. I can't believe i even finished this book. WOW! I should damn well get some reward for that! I hated it especially when Ethan was trying to save Lena, and went searching for Granny, Ryan and all that. He had like, what? 20-15 min till she would either turn Dark or Light, and guess what? He was walking cautiously and taking his damn time. He even had a nice chat with 1 or 2 people. Like no worries! My beloved girlfriend is just trying to not get killed by her own mother and turn into some kind of monster. But who cares right?

Overall, Beautiful Creatures wasn't a big disappointment to me, because i had a feeling i wouldn't like this book. Turns out i was right. I'v very curious as to how in the world this book is turning into a movie, since most people seem to hate it. I will most likely not buy the second book any time soon, although i might give it a go since i'm a nice person who gives 2sc chances. I will definitely see the movie, because it looks like a million times better than the book, and i want to see what they changed about it. I don't think i recommend Beautiful Creatures to anyone. And just in case one of the authors is reading this review ( happened to me more than once!) i am very sorry if i disrespected you in any way and said pretty bad stuff about your book, i'm just being honest here!. :)

Alex Great review! I'm torn, because after seeing the movie last night I kinda wanted to read the book. I liked the guy playing Ethan, he was funny. But IGreat review! I'm torn, because after seeing the movie last night I kinda wanted to read the book. I liked the guy playing Ethan, he was funny. But I see there are a lot of negative reviews for the book. I think I'm gonna postpone reading it.. :(...more
Aug 21, 2013 05:19AM

Sandra Alex wrote: "Great review! I'm torn, because after seeing the movie last night I kinda wanted to read the book. I liked the guy playing Ethan, he wasAlex wrote: "Great review! I'm torn, because after seeing the movie last night I kinda wanted to read the book. I liked the guy playing Ethan, he was funny. But I see there are a lot of negative reviews for the..."

I personally haven't watched the movie, but i heard from my friends who have watched it and read the book that there's nothing really similar to it :)So i don't know. I mean, the book is really long....more
Aug 21, 2013 07:58AM

This is an emotionally charged, moody, and atmospheric novel that is very reminiscent of how YA fiction was in the 90's and early 00's, before Twilight came along. By that, I mean it is full of quirky, average, outcast-type characters who drive the plot line along through their unique and easily pictured personalities.

I've heard people complain that Ethan is unrealistic. That makes me upset because I relate more to Ethan than I ever have with any other male character in history. He tries his haThis is an emotionally charged, moody, and atmospheric novel that is very reminiscent of how YA fiction was in the 90's and early 00's, before Twilight came along. By that, I mean it is full of quirky, average, outcast-type characters who drive the plot line along through their unique and easily pictured personalities.

I've heard people complain that Ethan is unrealistic. That makes me upset because I relate more to Ethan than I ever have with any other male character in history. He tries his hardest to treat others with dignity and respect, doesn't use women for sex (gasp! You don't say!), has a strong sense of fairness and compassion, and a passion for old-fashioned things such as literature. You can almost call him an "old soul", in a way. I fail to see what's so unrealistic about him. Plenty of guys are like this! Everyone is different. You can't categorize people into little boxes because of their gender. I'm a 19 year old male and I found their portrayal of an insightful boy with good morals who was raised to be polite and courteous to be refreshing and realistic. Meanwhile, if I would dare to say that Katniss was unrealistic because girls aren't that tough and don't usually enjoy hunting, I would be called a sexist. But saying Ethan is "not a guy" because he likes reading and acts chivalrous isn't? Talk about a double standard!

Lena is another intriguing character, as are her family. They're Casters, and many of them are full of life and zing. Like her time-traveling Aunt Del, or Macon, who behaves as if he belongs in a Tim Burton film. Link is also easy to like- I like how loyal he is to Ethan, and I also like his post-grunge personality & sense of style.

The story itself is steeped in Southern decadence and eeriness. At times, the story was slightly biased in its attitude towards Southerners and Christians, but I understand why the authors wrote the town in this way: they were trying to tell a story of what it is like to be an outcast, to be hated and feared for what you are. The Sisters are deeply religious and so is Marian, and they are all portrayed in a very positive light & are shown to have a profound influence on Ethan.

The only pet peeve I had was the way the authors sort of "threw in" Sarafine near the end without much of a warning as to what was going to happen. I would've appreciated if we were given more of a feel for her character.

Overall, Beautiful Creatures is tied with Mortal Instruments as my favorite YA series of all time. If you want to get lost in a story with vivid characters and powerful imagery with meaning, then I would strong suggest reading this novel and its sequels. Can't wait for Beautiful Redemption and the movie!!

This is another one of those cases where watching the movie motivated me to read the book. I loved that this book didn’t have the typical paranormal creature (vampire, werewolf, etc…) and I was even more intrigued by the deep family and town history that played a huge role in the story, so needless to say I had to read this one. Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely, and I found the two main characters to be endearing, down-to-earth teenagers just trying to find their way. The pace of4 stars!!

This is another one of those cases where watching the movie motivated me to read the book. I loved that this book didn’t have the typical paranormal creature (vampire, werewolf, etc…) and I was even more intrigued by the deep family and town history that played a huge role in the story, so needless to say I had to read this one. Overall, I enjoyed this book immensely, and I found the two main characters to be endearing, down-to-earth teenagers just trying to find their way. The pace of the book is pretty slow, but does move at a steady pace and since I’m a reader who appreciates it when historical elements are weaved into the story, I didn’t find the book to be boring or the tone monotonous at all.

The book is told almost entirely in the hero Ethan Wate’s POV, and from the beginning it’s known he’s plagued by dreams of a mysterious girl and an ominous, foreboding song that only he seems to hear. And in his small hometown of Gatlin where secrets become common knowledge and unspoken agreements become law, Ethan wants nothing more than to escape this stifling place and explore the world.

When he returns to his high school, he and everyone else is shocked to hear that there’s a new student, and the new kid is none other than Lena Duchannes, the niece of the town’s most abhorred resident and rumored ‘devil-worshipper.’ And even though he knows he shouldn’t, Ethan is hopelessly drawn to Lena and her to him. What ensues is a tentative friendship turned relationship where the romance is pure and heartfelt.

But what they soon learn about each other is that they really can’t be together without facing the dozens of obstacles in their way. Lena’s a Caster, a dignified term for witch, and on her 16th birthday will either be Claimed by the Light or the Dark based on her true nature. With Ethan being mortal and not knowing how to break the spell before Lena’s sixteen, conflict and danger are constantly threatening to separate the two, along with both of their families not approving of their relationship and of course, time.

This book was such a delight to read. I think this is one of the very few PNR books I’ve read where an action-packed plot isn’t the main thing driving the book. It’s very character-driven, and the pace is slower than expected but not to the point of boredom, at least not for me. There is sarcasm and dry humor sprinkled among the pages, and with some Civil War history and family dynamics in the background, this book engaged both my mind and my heart. The only reason why I didn’t give it 5 stars is because it did take some time for the book to really grab me and wasn’t unputdownable, plus I feel like this first book only gave me a taste of what could be a magnificent PNR series. I have a feeling that the following books will be just as good or even better than this first one.

Beautiful Creatures is the first book in this YA paranormal series and while it’s designed to have the story continue on in the next few books, it technically can be read as a standalone. The ending is not a cliffhanger and concludes on a high note. ...more

I acquired a copy of Beautiful Creatures at ALA from a teen who was my super hero. She had an extra copy and gave one to me and so I have to say Thankyouthankyouthankyou to you (I'm sorry I don't know your name) for your random act of kindness that I will pay forward.

I haven't been able to put this book down. It's absloutely fantastic. The combination of tension, humour, mystery and the paranormal have made this a real page-turner. I love the style of writing and the authors have created characI acquired a copy of Beautiful Creatures at ALA from a teen who was my super hero. She had an extra copy and gave one to me and so I have to say Thankyouthankyouthankyou to you (I'm sorry I don't know your name) for your random act of kindness that I will pay forward.

I haven't been able to put this book down. It's absloutely fantastic. The combination of tension, humour, mystery and the paranormal have made this a real page-turner. I love the style of writing and the authors have created characters that are real and people you want to care about. I'm a little more than half way through and I'm getting concerned because the book is going to end soon!!! I just don't want that to happen. I really hope this team puts out another book really soon (like tomorrow :)) so I can read it!

The other thing about this book is the role of the library and librarian. It's made me laugh becuase these ladies have it dead on especially when the Aunts discover there are computers at the library. I laughed out loud! Genealogy also plays a part and it's made me think about getting back into it and tackling my own family tree again.

In the end all I can say is everyone needs to pick this one up....more

so i just watched the movie adaptation last night and i liked it! certainly superior to the book, and way better than the Twilight adaptations. i wonder why the movie was so unpopular? it was cute, the effects were good, the sets for the magic mansion were pretty cool, and the whole thing flew by and was over before i knew it. Viola Davis & Jeremy Irons were amusing. the lead actor had the corniest, most syrupy Southern accent possible yet was a goofy delight to watch - that kidMOVIE UPDATE

so i just watched the movie adaptation last night and i liked it! certainly superior to the book, and way better than the Twilight adaptations. i wonder why the movie was so unpopular? it was cute, the effects were good, the sets for the magic mansion were pretty cool, and the whole thing flew by and was over before i knew it. Viola Davis & Jeremy Irons were amusing. the lead actor had the corniest, most syrupy Southern accent possible yet was a goofy delight to watch - that kid was great, whoever he is. the lead actress had a good look. she was potentially annoying but in the end, not so annoying after all (although not the most amazing actress). my favorite part about her is that she's the daughter of phenomenal filmmaker Jane Campion and for that she has my automatic positive regard. but the best part of all was awesome Emma Thompson. she was pure fun. what an actress!

okay here is my fascinating & epic original review from 8/25/10:

supernaturally-themed YA offering, with an unusual central character: the protagonist is a perfectly regular teenage male, not an outcast or outsider nor a young lady meeting the sexy supernatural stranger of her dreams. the atypical audience identification point is striking and both this central characterization and the atmosphere of a decaying southern town are thoughtfully rendered. the love story is at times surprisingly intense and is also at times more absorbing then the often strangely flimsy mystical elements....more

StephJennie wrote: "So... not to jump in the middle... but these comments keep showing up in my notifications and I can't help but notice you both rated itJennie wrote: "So... not to jump in the middle... but these comments keep showing up in my notifications and I can't help but notice you both rated it 2 stars. Why has this even gotten to this point if you both..."

Sorry, but when I first saw the rating button, I was on the computer and thought you had to click on it first and THEN rate it. I rerated it to five stars because I love this book....more
Jun 19, 2014 07:18AM

mark mondayoh, Steph. tsk, tsk! I asked you a simple question that you were apparently unable to answer. it really wasn't that hard of a question, but I am sorryoh, Steph. tsk, tsk! I asked you a simple question that you were apparently unable to answer. it really wasn't that hard of a question, but I am sorry that the question inspired you to have such an embarrassing public meltdown. well, I suppose that's what happens with most trolls. they insult people and then when they are challenged, they lose all control. I'm not sure how old you are, but it is obvious your emotional age is in the single digits.

Really liked this book! Such a cool world & magic system, with great characters and a rich, vibrant setting! It took me a little while to really get into the story, and the ending was a bit anti-climatic, but I'm very much looking forward to continuing the series! I really enjoyed the relationship between Ethan and Lena and I can't wait to see where it goes next!

Beautiful Creatures is exactly what I aspire to be as a human being: pretty, funny, and smart all in one package. Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl have written a seamless and utterly absorbing tale of a cursed romance: a Mortal boy who falls for a Caster girl in a small Southern town. Meaningful thoughts about love, loyalty, and prejudice unfold from this intricately parsed novel: those whoSUN, APRIL 18 at 2 pm - Meet Kami & Margie at Borders Glendale (CA)RSVP here: http://bit.ly/grbeautifulc

Beautiful Creatures is exactly what I aspire to be as a human being: pretty, funny, and smart all in one package. Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl have written a seamless and utterly absorbing tale of a cursed romance: a Mortal boy who falls for a Caster girl in a small Southern town. Meaningful thoughts about love, loyalty, and prejudice unfold from this intricately parsed novel: those who love books will delight in the literary references, those who love love will swoon over the star-crossed couple, and those who love good writing will greedily devour every carefully chosen word.

Better yet, get the print version and the audio, both. The music and sound effects (particularly for the dream sequences) in the audiobook version add yet another dimension to the Gothic atmosphere the authors have built.

12/7/09 observation... BC is on about 73% more to-be-read shelves as a week ago. Let's see what # they hit next week (currently 1733 with 128 currently-reading)12/9/09 watching it... up by 100 tbrs in 2 days!12/11/09 I think it'll hit 2000 tomorrow. Man, I love watching things trend. Like birdwatching....more

Gorgeous, dark, lush, and gothic. It's so refreshing to read a paranormal romance told from the point of view of the guy, and Ethan is a fantastic narrator. Through his eyes, Gatlin comes alive in all its small town glory, full of whispers and secrets and prejudices (the Civil War tidbits are so interesting). Ethan + Lena makes for sexy and sweet romance. Amma, Ethan's no-nonsense grandmother, is an awesome character. And this line gives me goosebumps every time I read it: "Mortals. I envy you.Gorgeous, dark, lush, and gothic. It's so refreshing to read a paranormal romance told from the point of view of the guy, and Ethan is a fantastic narrator. Through his eyes, Gatlin comes alive in all its small town glory, full of whispers and secrets and prejudices (the Civil War tidbits are so interesting). Ethan + Lena makes for sexy and sweet romance. Amma, Ethan's no-nonsense grandmother, is an awesome character. And this line gives me goosebumps every time I read it: "Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures." Agh, love. <3...more

Ethan sounds like a woman--or a very, very, feminine man. He notices things like pink finger nails, too dark tans, whether someone is too fat for their skirt, or what kind of purse she has. And, tell me, what 17 year old boy has a thing against blondes? Now, I'm not a guy myself, but I really doubt teen boys are that observant. To me, he sounded like a petty woman.

Ethan hangs with old ladies. I understand he has to take them to church and all, but why does he comGot to page 110. Here's my beef.

Ethan sounds like a woman--or a very, very, feminine man. He notices things like pink finger nails, too dark tans, whether someone is too fat for their skirt, or what kind of purse she has. And, tell me, what 17 year old boy has a thing against blondes? Now, I'm not a guy myself, but I really doubt teen boys are that observant. To me, he sounded like a petty woman.

Ethan hangs with old ladies. I understand he has to take them to church and all, but why does he come to them for gossip? Sure, they're old so they must know everything, but why not ask his jock friends about the new girl? Golly knows it's a small town and secrets are impossible to keep secret.

My buddy Ethan accepts talking voices in his head. Automatically he knows that, hey, Lena is communicating with him. They talk back and forth in their heads and even share a vision together. Ethan doesn't doubt anything for a minute and thinks everything is normal and dandy. (If I started seeing and hearing things, I would be freaking out and stay away from the source. Maybe I'm weird.)

Ethan wants to be buddies with Lena, even though she tells him to get lost(via planting message in his head). When she gets upset at school, it's in his place to run over to her house and go on in. He doesn't know her, but that's fine, why not go trespass?

Wonder how many more complaints I would have found had I read 400 more pages. Good thing I called a quits, right?

BeckyI found it silly when he's in ravenwood house and the crazy uncle starts making objects fly around without touching them and Ethan didn't even react tI found it silly when he's in ravenwood house and the crazy uncle starts making objects fly around without touching them and Ethan didn't even react to that until 3 pages later!...more
Jun 17, 2014 01:24PM

It took me longer than it should have to read Beautiful Creatures, mostly because I kept re-reading passages (and sometimes entire sections) just to savor that southern *feel* that the authors captured so incredibly well. From the language to the characters to the settings, I felt like I was part of Ethan and Lena's journey as they navigated their way toward her 16th birthday.

Southern Gothic, huh? Haunted mansions, prejudiced folk and proper manners. Well it's all that alright. And makes a damn good debut, I'll tell you as much. It's being sold as the next Twilight and as of now it does too deliver on that front, although time will eventually show if it is indeed so. The prognosis is favorable with plenty of rave reviews, not as rave as the Edward-Jacob-fans, but still, rave enough to make me wary. I was a little suspicious of the buzz, not wanting to waste time on ySouthern Gothic, huh? Haunted mansions, prejudiced folk and proper manners. Well it's all that alright. And makes a damn good debut, I'll tell you as much. It's being sold as the next Twilight and as of now it does too deliver on that front, although time will eventually show if it is indeed so. The prognosis is favorable with plenty of rave reviews, not as rave as the Edward-Jacob-fans, but still, rave enough to make me wary. I was a little suspicious of the buzz, not wanting to waste time on yet another over-hyped ya read. The plan was to hold of with acquiring and reading until one of my trusted sources over here on Goodreads reads and reviews it first. Well, clearly, that did not happen.

I guess advertising really works. They got to me after all. Not that I'm holding a grudge, I do not regret reading the book. But I do not love it, as I was promised I would. Even though for a moment there, as I just started getting into the story, I felt the tingly loving sensation*. The main causes for it were the strong mystery angle, and all the withheld information. I was intrigued, I was curious, I was excited. Up to a point. When you drag out one straight suspense story for over 600 pages without throwing in any twists, it will get old fast, long before the 600 page mark. Slowly releasing chunks of information, doesn't work either. When shit hits the fan, it should be hot, steaming, and juicy, otherwise the whole effect is lost. Dried out, crunchy dung is unspectacular, does not stain, and no longer has any impact.

In summary, the suspense went to pooper, so to speak. Fortunately, there's the love angle, for the romantics. The numerous references to renown literary works, for bibliophiles. Few jokes and quirky characters, for those like to laugh with/at people**. And all that is smarty stuffed into chapters, each ending on a clever note, so that every time you make a reading break, you're left thinking "Ooh, witty!"

Not that I oppose such strategy. It's slightly manipulative, but not a great offence. If only there was as much thought put into plot as into this chapter styling, I would be ecstatic. With young-adult-lit, typically it's all tension, pacing, tension, pacing... But even if I agree to disregard this dear to me ya-rule, even if I forget the unexciting middle, even then in my humble opinion, any 600 long build-up deserves a solid KABOOM. And I was given: only a tiny one, no resolution, and a possibility of sequel***. So yeah, I'm not ecstatic. But then I was never really ecstatic Twilight either (only a tiny little), so what do I know?

_______________________________________________*Yet that died out.

**I myself am amused when an old lady whacks her sisters dog solid mistaking him for a wharf rat. And so I could have used more of that goodness, just saying.

***Which I could do without, but I might be tempted to read, dammit. Somebody stop me....more

I really liked this. :) I picked it up expecting the usual paranormal romance – you know, a lot of lovey-dovey stuff and some guy with some sort of supernatural powers … But in this case: first of all, it was the girl who was the "dangerous"/supernatural one, which I thought was awesome. And she wasn't the typical vampire/werewolf/witch/etc. I liked the idea of Casters, how they were kind of like witches/wizards but … not. And I loved the idea about being Claimed and all that jazz. The further tI really liked this. :) I picked it up expecting the usual paranormal romance – you know, a lot of lovey-dovey stuff and some guy with some sort of supernatural powers … But in this case: first of all, it was the girl who was the "dangerous"/supernatural one, which I thought was awesome. And she wasn't the typical vampire/werewolf/witch/etc. I liked the idea of Casters, how they were kind of like witches/wizards but … not. And I loved the idea about being Claimed and all that jazz. The further the story progressed, the more intriguing the plot became. The premise was much more original and compelling than I anticipated. It was one of those books where I was wondering what was going to happen the whole time, sometimes when I wasn't even reading it. I know a book is good when I think about it when I'm not actually reading it. ;D There were a lot of great and unexpected plot twists. It was just awesome. I fell in love with the characters, too. They were all great … Ethan, Lena, Amma, Link, Ridley, Uncle Macon … ahhh I just loved them all! lol. The writing was good, too – exciting, descriptive, sometimes serious and sometimes funny. Loved the book! :]...more

Paranormal has always been kind of sticky with me. Witches, werewolves, and vampires aren't what I usually read but I decided to try this one after hearing such great things about it.

One thing that surprised me was the length of the book but then I found out it was written by two authors. I guess that could be a contributing factor.

I enjoyed near every aspect of the book from the characters who are more than what they seem, the town itself, to the caster world that is being presented. Ethan isParanormal has always been kind of sticky with me. Witches, werewolves, and vampires aren't what I usually read but I decided to try this one after hearing such great things about it.

One thing that surprised me was the length of the book but then I found out it was written by two authors. I guess that could be a contributing factor.

I enjoyed near every aspect of the book from the characters who are more than what they seem, the town itself, to the caster world that is being presented. Ethan is a great character, though he does have a feminine streak to him as he decribes the outfits of most of the female characters in the book. What's so funny is that I probably read so many female protagonist books that I might not have noticed this if it wasn't pointed out to me. In any case it didn't bother me.

One thing I always mention when there is a romance in a series (which is pretty much always) is if there is a love triangle. And thank goodness there isn't one yet. I'm thinking or hoping there isn't going to be one in the next books of the series.

Yes, I have a few compliants like how Lena is somewhat melodramatic, but she does have reasons I suppose. The length of the beginning could've been shortened I think if the authors didn't repeat themselves so much but really other than that I enjoyed the book quite a bit and look forward to the next one. ...more

For starters, too long. Coulda been a tighter, stronger story in half the 600-plus pages. Lots of backstory at the front end, so the story is slow to get going. And even then, it's not a page-turner.

I found myself skim-reading through much of the book to get to the finish, probably because 1) I didn't really care that much about Ethan and Lena, either as individual characters or as an 'item,' and 2) I had a hard time buying into Ethan as the book's belieYour average, ordinary, overhyped debut.

For starters, too long. Coulda been a tighter, stronger story in half the 600-plus pages. Lots of backstory at the front end, so the story is slow to get going. And even then, it's not a page-turner.

I found myself skim-reading through much of the book to get to the finish, probably because 1) I didn't really care that much about Ethan and Lena, either as individual characters or as an 'item,' and 2) I had a hard time buying into Ethan as the book's believable male point of view.

He's too perfect, too politically correct, too chivalrous, too quick to choose the new girl in town over his longtime friends, too lustless, too into poetry and too detail-oriented for a teen-age boy. He's certainly not like any teenage guys I grew up with or know today.

It's hard to buy into a book if you can't buy into the lead character.

Personally, I knew the book was in trouble when Ethan casually accepted that Lena could communicate with him through their thoughts ... or even that she just assumed he'd accept her paranormal whispers with little to no freaking out.

Really? I know I'd jump out of my skin if someone started talking to me nonchanlantly inside my head like that, as if it was right as rain.

That's the kind of credibility-sinking turn in a book that disconnects readers with characters ... and it's exactly the sort of thing a good editor would have fixed before this book ever saw print.

On the other hand, there's some nice stylistic writing going on in this book. And the last five lines in that opening chapter suck you in about as well as any opening chapter I've read in a long time.

I really wanted to like this book. I did. But ... didn't really work for me. ...more

TatifaceI completely agree with your review! I can usually get through a good book rather quickly, but this one was a bore so it took a while. I wasn't convinI completely agree with your review! I can usually get through a good book rather quickly, but this one was a bore so it took a while. I wasn't convinced that this was written from the perspective of a teenage guy. It felt like there were two thirty something year old women trying to create a model of how they felt a teenage boy should behave, think and act... Oh wait....

Anyway, glad to know I'm not the only one that was having a hard time getting through it. Cheers!...more
Feb 26, 2013 12:00AM

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.And here we have it: another trite, cliché paranormal romance wherein the mysterious new student is a supernatural creature (in this case a witch—no, I’m sorry, a Caster) and the protagonist falls head over heels in love with them because their blandness is so irresistibly irresistible and they want to be together but oh no they can’t, it’s too dangerous, but it’s true love in its purest form and love conquers all, right?

I actually did not know that Beautiful Creatures followed this formula toAnd here we have it: another trite, cliché paranormal romance wherein the mysterious new student is a supernatural creature (in this case a witch—no, I’m sorry, a Caster) and the protagonist falls head over heels in love with them because their blandness is so irresistibly irresistible and they want to be together but oh no they can’t, it’s too dangerous, but it’s true love in its purest form and love conquers all, right?

I actually did not know that Beautiful Creatures followed this formula to the letter (about the only fresh thing it brings to the table is the fact that the protagonist is male and the supernatural love interest is female). In fact, I didn’t know a single damn thing about Beautiful Creatures when I bought it other than the fact that it was paranormal YA and it was getting rave reviews from book sources that I trusted. (Sources that have honestly escaped me upon writing this.)

Let’s start with the characters. Ethan, the protagonist, is about as distinguishable as a filler character in a sitcom only without any shtick to make him somewhat amusing. He’s mostly there to describe things as they happen and to have very little impact on the story itself thusly keeping whatever personality he is hiding from projecting onto his surroundings. The two things I remember about him from the 560 page of text: he eats a lot and he enjoys reading but keeps it a secret due to the fact that his fellow basketball teammates—if not the entire high school—would look down on him for his literacy. Unfortunate southern implications, they will make an appearance later in the review.

Lena was just as bland. Did I mention this trend of two-dimensional love interests? It’s all a part of the formula since good-looking but otherwise vapid people have some sort of universal appeal. Regarding Lena, however, I’m able to forgive a bit since she provided the only interesting crux of the story—I enjoyed reading about the different Caster powers and I wish they would have been expanded upon more. In fact, I wish the authors would ditch the stilted love story and write an explosive tell-all about Lena’s family and their comings-of-age. I liked the idea of Ryan and Reece and even Ridley—up until the end, which I will discuss later.

I liked Macon and I liked Amma—and I have to congratulate the authors for actually giving Ethan some sort of parental supervision and have his actions, you know, have some consequences instead of just writing out parental guidance completely. Oh—and I just want to briefly mention the librarian whose name I’ve already forgotten. Okay, yes, she’s well-read. You don’t need to prove this by having her quote Shakespeare or Sophocles every time she speaks. No, really, we get it. Once or twice in the course of the novel is enough.

Now let’s talk about the southern setting that was capitalized upon in the blurb and throughout the novel. You know, I’ve only lived in one place in my life so maybe these kinds of small southern towns do exist. However, when I first started reading I felt a huge time displacement—Ethan had just mentioned owning an iPod so I felt safe assuming that the story was set within the past few years. And then he described how everyone in town still felt bitter about the civil war and refused to acknowledge that the south had actually, you know, lost. Forgive my ignorance if this is actually a commonplace thing but students in my high school came to class wearing Confederate flags on their shirts and on the bumpers of their camouflage pick up trucks (this is along with their “God has a place for every creature—right next to the taters and gravy” bumper stickers). None of them—at least to my knowledge—were in any sort of weird denial about the civil war. It felt like an anachronism the whole way through.

As a side note to that, the book leads up to a town-wide reenactment of the civil war and I was jarred when I read that the soldiers were using live ammunition. I’m hoping that the authors are getting their facts disturbingly wrong, otherwise my faith in humanity just went down a notch.

Anyway, let’s talk about what I’m really writing this review to complain about: the high school. If this wasn’t the epitome of cliché then I will eat my shoe. Let’s review: we have Emily and Savannah, both blonde cheerleaders with the same little metallic purses and who are described as essentially looking and acting exactly alike. With me so far? Of course you are, this is the most famous high school archetype. Turns out the entire school is a hivemind led by these two girls. “Led” as in you act like Emily and Savannah and you won’t be brutally ostracized not only be the whole of the student population but by the town itself.

I hate this more than anything. Not only is it just plain stupid, it’s a sign that the authors were either too lazy or too ignorant to breathe personality into a high school—and high school is brimming with personality. I’ll be the first to acknowledge that high school can, in a lot of ways, be a hierarchy but it is not a hivemind and it is not a personal army. In a real high school Lena would not be the only unusual person. Most teenagers appreciate freedom of expression and there would not be a concentrated effort to collectively lick the asses of the quote-unquote cool girls. Not all people want to follow a status quo—quite a few want to just be themselves even if it means being a social pariah.

My favorite part was when our heroic protagonists were going to the winter formal and Ethan so cattily placed all of the high school females into two categories—the sluts and the vapid, bitchy southern belles. Only Lena got to look beautiful in her gown. This book was projecting in a weird way. All of the human women were vapid and evil and jealous and bigoted and there was no room for free thought. All of the guys had no thoughts beyond getting into the pants of said females (save for our saintly protagonist who was above such matters).

And now to the meat of the matter—the story itself. As mentioned earlier, I could almost offer a little forgiveness for an interesting mythology but the entire concept is explained in one chapter and left unexplored so my interest fell by the wayside. At some point Lena starts talking inside of Ethan’s head and he calmly accepts this new development with all the surprise of a person getting a new text message.

I’m not going to discuss most of the first 500 pages since it mostly consists of everyone in town being assholes, Ethan figuring Lena out, some flashbacks involving a locket, a lot of “I-love-you-even-though-I-don’t-want-to-say-it”, and about 200 pages that could be trimmed without much impact to the story.

What I want to talk about is the ending. Okay, we’ve arrived at Lena’s sixteenth birthday where she will be Claimed by either the dark side or the light side—it’s the point of the story that readers have endured all aforementioned padding to reach. Also, there are people apparently shooting each in some other part of town since I guess that’s what a war reenactment entails. Inevitably, crazy plot twists are about to go down.

One of the villains, Ridley, who was claimed by the dark side, has influenced the entire town to have a party at Ravenwood for Lena’s birthday. Even though Ridley is no doubt up to something dastardly and even though Lena hates her and even though she knows she had to be careful on her birthday and even though a thousand other damn things, Lena begs her uncle if she can go out and join the puppet party. Understandably, he says no. And then she gets upset.

But wait—Ridley has to outdo Lena’s sudden leapfrog in logic by—wait for it—leaving in the middle of her villainous scheme right when she has to the protagonists right where she wants them. I don’t know about you, but for me nothing spells good story like a conflict being resolved by the villain leaving on a whim.

And then there’s Sarafina—at least I think her name was Sarafina, I’m forgetting quite a few names at this point—who for some reason has been disguised as Link’s mother throughout the entire book. Link, who has absolutely no bearing on the plot and whose mother would be completely ineffectual at getting to Lena. Of course she does go on a huge campaign to get Lena expelled but what in the world would having Lena getting to spend all the more time at Ravenwood under the protection of Macon possibly accomplish? It was a plot twist for the sake of a plot twist.

Now for the final question that the readers have been anticipating—is Lena a good witch or a bad witch? Well, you see, the authors get to opt out of answering this question by having the clouds cover the moon. A hundred years of a powerful family curse negated because the clouds cover the moon. But it’s all good because the end of the book implies that Lena will have to be Claimed on her seventeenth birthday. Aren’t recycled plot points fun? I know I’m looking forward to reading another 600-pager just to find out the answer that was promised in the first novel.

Except I won’t be. That’s the thing about this book. I’ve picked up books in series that I didn’t like simply because they are train wrecks. A sequel to Beautiful Creatures wouldn’t be worth reading to find out if the story gets better, it wouldn’t be worth reading to find out Lena’s fate, and it wouldn’t even be worth reading for the lulz. It didn’t even have the advantage of being amusingly bad. It was just boring the whole way through.

This, fellow readers, has been another installment in why I need to stop picking up YA fantasy novels. Maybe someday I’ll learn my lesson. I know, I know—bitter, party of me....more

KimYes small southern towns culture is obsessed with "the war of northern aggression" and a lot of guys in my town wear confederate flags and have them hYes small southern towns culture is obsessed with "the war of northern aggression" and a lot of guys in my town wear confederate flags and have them hanging on their trucks. That part is right on and gossip is what makes a southern town run. ( I wasn't born here so the culture shock was intense). It is like stepping back 50-100 years....more
Jan 10, 2013 10:00PM

AmandaIn that case I'm glad my small southern town isn't THAT far gone. We do have the confederate flag contingent but at least most have the decency to keeIn that case I'm glad my small southern town isn't THAT far gone. We do have the confederate flag contingent but at least most have the decency to keep their outrage more current....more
Jan 11, 2013 11:54AM

*UPDATE* After much evaluation of the novel, I've decided to be truthful. It hurts. I suck. But I am honest, and that's all I care about.

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. This sucker is 563 pages of insipid crap. The authors have no idea what they were doing when they wrote about the south. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure they used every cliché in the book. No, not every southerner sits on their porch, drinking sweet tea, and licking their one and only tooth. The book i*UPDATE* After much evaluation of the novel, I've decided to be truthful. It hurts. I suck. But I am honest, and that's all I care about.

BEAUTIFUL CREATURES by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. This sucker is 563 pages of insipid crap. The authors have no idea what they were doing when they wrote about the south. As a matter of fact, I'm pretty sure they used every cliché in the book. No, not every southerner sits on their porch, drinking sweet tea, and licking their one and only tooth. The book is written in a male's POV, but it's so obvious a male never read it before it went to print because it reads like a girl in a manly body. I'm sorry. Males and females DO have different ways of thinking. It's what makes us, um, different. Oh, and because there are TWO authors the book is twice as long. J.K. Rowling broke the rules because she was fabulous. Debut authors do not get to break the rules. Why, you ask? Because if they do, BEAUTIFUL CREATURES is the dreadful result. This book could have been cut in half and told the same story. Then it might have actually been interesting. If these two would stop telling us about how them there southerners live, then they could actually get to the plot. Instead they buried that little nugget. And to think, the cover gave it so much potential . . . then you saw the thickness. Pass.

Old review:

It took me 3 months to read this book. Somewhere in the middle I just couldn't get through it, but finally decided that I needed to give the book a chance because everywhere I go I see something about BEAUTIFUL CREATURES. The end was confusing as hell and the random switch in POV for two seconds also made me go cock-eyed. Regardless, I still think the writing was great. I had a few good laughs and some lines were just priceless. The character development was well thought-out and it made me understand Ethan. For some reason, though, I couldn't wrap my head around Lena's and Ethan's relationship. It just . . . lacked. Some books, every time the two love-bird characters interacted, my stomach would get the ol' butterfly feeling. Not a single time in this book did their interaction do anything for me. It was forced.

Not sure if I want to recommend this book or not. Everyone has a different reaction to it, so I'm just going to say . . . rent it at the library. Give it a chance and, if you like it, then go buy it.

CarolineTHANK YOU. I was beginning to think I was the only Southern who thought this was in no way an accurate representation of ANY part of the South.
Sep 27, 2014 11:03AM

Alison DeLucaI'm adding my THANK YOU to Caroline's gratitude. For a while I wondered if I was the only one bored by this overblown, turgid book. Plus the pages andI'm adding my THANK YOU to Caroline's gratitude. For a while I wondered if I was the only one bored by this overblown, turgid book. Plus the pages and pages of italics gave me a headache... Did not finish it, so kudos to you for making it all the way through....more
Nov 19, 2014 06:38AM

Beautiful Creatures was a fascinating first novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The focus of the story was the romance between Ethan and Lena - a mortal and a Caster, two star-crossed lovers separated by their predetermined fate and a small southern town trying to tear them apart.

The last hundred pages or so of this novel were amazing. The writing was beautiful and the pacing was tight. I absolutely loved the descriptions and how everything prior to the climax came to a point; it pretty mucBeautiful Creatures was a fascinating first novel by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl. The focus of the story was the romance between Ethan and Lena - a mortal and a Caster, two star-crossed lovers separated by their predetermined fate and a small southern town trying to tear them apart.

The last hundred pages or so of this novel were amazing. The writing was beautiful and the pacing was tight. I absolutely loved the descriptions and how everything prior to the climax came to a point; it pretty much made the entire four hundred pages beforehand worthwhile. While the beginning and middle of the novel were terribly slow, they ultimately contribute to the flawless ending - I would recommend bracing through the first half of the book just to reach the ending.

I also thought Ethan was written a bit unrealistically, especially at the beginning of the novel. I don't know any straight, male adolescent who would critique a girl's blond hair, fingernail color, or promiscuous clothing choices. They might exist, but I think the authors went a bit overboard in attempting to make Ethan the perfect boyfriend.

Looking forward to the sequel, Beautiful Darkness.

*edit as of 2/17/2013: I regret my choice of words when I first wrote this review, because it makes me sound sexist and stereotypical. I don't think Ethan was unrealistic (now) because of his actions, rather, merely because he was seemingly perfect. Just wanted to make that clear....more

Kami Garcia is the #1 New York Times, bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures Novels & the Dangerous Creatures Novels, and the author of the instant New York Times bestseller & Bram Stoker Award nominated novel UNBREAKABLE, and the sequel UNMARKED in the Legion Series.

Kami grew up outside of Washington DC, wore lots of black, and spent hours writing poetry in spiral notebooks. AsKami Garcia is the #1 New York Times, bestselling co-author of the Beautiful Creatures Novels & the Dangerous Creatures Novels, and the author of the instant New York Times bestseller & Bram Stoker Award nominated novel UNBREAKABLE, and the sequel UNMARKED in the Legion Series.

Kami grew up outside of Washington DC, wore lots of black, and spent hours writing poetry in spiral notebooks. As a girl with Southern roots, she has always been fascinated by the paranormal. She’s very superstitious and would never sleep in a room with the number “13″ on the door. When she is not writing, Kami can usually be found watching disaster movies, listening to Soundgarden, or drinking Diet Coke.

Kami lives with her husband, son, daughter, and their dogs Spike and Oz (named after characters from Buffy the Vampire Slayer)....more